Pedro Neto has been playing up front in recent weeks in a bid to solve Chelsea’s issues in forward positions. Neto has impressed since moving centrally, managing four shots against Aston Villa and following that performance with a goal and assist against Southampton.

Neto is at his best when occupying the inside channels on the last line of the defence. Arsenal like to push their line quite high when in forward areas, which will give Neto space to run into and get shots away at the Emirates.

Neto is averaging 2.12 shots per 90 in the Premier League and had three shots against Arsenal in the initial meeting between the sides at Stamford Bridge. Neto’s average should increase if he continues to play in this central role.

Fofana returned to the Chelsea starting lineup in their 1-0 win over his former side, Leicester. He’s been on the sidelines for a few months after picking up an injury, he’s crucial to how Chelsea want to play and his return is timely for a Chelsea side who need a big push to finish the season in the Champions League positions and win the Conference League.

Fofana was a regular sinner before his injury, committing 20 fouls across his 13 Premier League appearances (1.65 per 90). On paper, Fofana lines up as a right-back for Chelsea, but this is more a right centre back role on the pitch as Chelsea often transition to a back three when they have the ball.

This should see Fofana line up against Leandro Trossard who has been winning plenty of fouls recently, the Belgian has been fouled at least once in each of his last five Premier League matches. Trossard is averaging 1.59 fouls won per 90 across the season as a whole and will be backed up by Myles Lewis-Skelly, who has won 21 fouls across his 13 appearances in the Premier League (2.79 per 90).

David Raya is averaging 2.46 saves per game in the Premier League this season which is an average that would cover our line here but notably, it’s an increase on his average of just 1.44 saves per game across his 32 Premier League games last season.

Chelsea drew two saves from Raya in the initial meeting between the sides at Stamford Bridge. They still boast notable attacking quality through the likes of Neto, Palmer, Nkunku and Fernandez who can test Raya on a few occasions here.

Chelsea are averaging 6.0 shots on target per game in the Premier League this season – only Liverpool are managing more shots on target per game than the Blues.

Arsenal are totally dominant in this department at the Emirates. The Gunners are averaging 7.92 corners per game at home in the Premier League this season and are conceding just 1.85 – by far the lowest in the Premier League on home territory.

Arsenal utilise set pieces better than any other side in the division, 19.2% of their goals in the Premier League have come from set pieces, underlining their importance to Mikel Arteta’s side. The Gunners have only scored three goals across their last four Premier League matches, so it’s clear they’re struggling for inspiration from open play in the final third.

Chelsea are only conceding 3.71 corners per game across their away games in the Premier League this season, but we can expect this average to increase given how strong Arsenal are when it comes to winning corners at home.

Moises Caicedo has been brilliant for Chelsea in the middle of the park this season. Despite the inconsistencies that have affected his teammates of late, his performances have stayed solid in helping Chelsea break up play.

Caicedo was all action in the initial meeting between the sides in which he made more tackles than any other player (three), as well as committing two fouls and being hauled down once himself. Caicedo regularly goes through a large volume of defensive work as evidenced by his foul numbers this season, he’s averaging 2.09 fouls committed per 90 across his 28 Premier League appearances this season.

This record has produced nine yellow cards for him, he has picked up two yellow cards across his last five appearances too and recently went through a run of four games in which he was cautioned in each. Chelsea can be quite clumsy with their challenges, no side has collected more cautions in the Premier League than the Blues this season (76).

Enzo Fernandez is finally starting to find his role in this Chelsea side. He began the campaign in a slightly deeper role, but Maresca quickly identified that he is more effective in forward positions. This is having a direct impact on some of his key metrics, including goal contributions (nine) and fouls won (1.63 per 90).

Fernandez has been fouled at least once in each of his last five Premier League appearances with this total rising to 2+ fouls won in four of these games. His ability to win fouls is informed by his all action approach which sees the Argentine charge into duels. Fernandez has also taken up a leadership role in this Chelsea side which is translating to his actions on the pitch.

Fernandez will be in a direct battle with Thomas Partey who sits at the base of Arsenal’s midfield. Partey committed two fouls in the initial meeting between these sides at Stamford Bridge and is averaging 1.46 fouls committed per 90 across his 27 Premier League games.

There is a real discrepancy between these sides when it comes to cautions this season. Chelsea have been shown more yellow cards than any other side in the Premier League (76) whilst only four teams have collected fewer cards than the Gunners in England’s top-flight this season (53).

This gap between the two sides in this particular metric was evident in the initial meeting between the sides in which Chelsea were shown four yellow cards whilst Arsenal only collected two. It should be similar here with Chelsea being the away side and Enzo Maresca’s men showing on a few occasions that they can be clumsy in the challenge.

Chelsea have found some form of late, winning each of their last four games across all competitions. These are all games Chelsea were expected to win so there hasn’t been a massive turnaround from their poor form over the winter period, but they certainly have momentum to take to the Emirates.

The Gunners have only managed to win one of their last four games in the Premier League, which came against Leicester. It’s unlikely that Arsenal are able to produce the firepower to convincingly beat this Chelsea side given their recent run of form and the return of key players such as Wesley Fofana and Reece James.

The initial meeting between these sides at Stamford Bridge saw this selection land as the sides played out a 1-1 draw. A similarly tight affair is expected at the Emirates given the various issues plaguing these teams at the moment, with this selection also accounting for a narrow Arsenal win which seems plausible given their impressive home record this season.